


Reese Comes Home

by krelboyne



Category: Malcolm in the Middle
Genre: Brothers, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Making Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-27 21:53:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18747835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krelboyne/pseuds/krelboyne
Summary: Set directly after 'Reese Comes Home' (s6,e1).Reese ran away to join the army after his girlfriend left him for Malcolm. Malcolm regrets everything, and has the chance to fix things when Reese deserts the army to come home.Some angst and fluff. Could be slash, could just be brotherly love. Up to you.





	Reese Comes Home

**Author's Note:**

> The prologue is the final scene of the episode 'Reese Comes Home', including all dialogue. 
> 
> Malcolm was so distraught in this final scene before Reese came home - I just had to write something about it.

 

 

_Malcolm couldn’t think of a time he had felt this bad._

_He sat on the rooftop with Dewey, and although their idea in which to honour Reese was positively genius, he felt reluctant doing it._

_Reese leaving was all his fault. How could he have done something so uncaring, so cold? Even by their standards._

_“I just can’t believe he could really be gone.” Malcolm’s thought had somehow become a verbal statement, and his words came spilling into the air around him._

_“I know.” Dewey agreed, tying another Jamie diaper to a balloon and sending it sailing above the unassuming crowd of the art fair._

_“It’s so weird,” Malcolm continued, “it seems like all my life I’ve wished for something horrible to happen to Reese. Now that it has, I… I-”_

_“Miss him?”_

_"Yeah.”_

_“I do too.”_

_Recounting some of their fondest memories of their older brother only made the lump in Malcolm’s throat grow. Even the cries from below as another diaper fell couldn’t cheer him up. It all seemed so pointless._

_"Why couldn’t I have said something meaningful to him before he...” And there it was. This is what hurt so much. Anything could happen to Reese while he was away. Nobody knew when they’d see him next._

_"Don’t do this to yourself.” Dewey chimed in, watching as Malcolm sent another balloon gliding. “He would have liked this.”_

_“I only wish he could’ve been here to see it.” The tears he fought to hold back were threatening to spill. There was no fun in this; just simple, loyal obligation to honour his brother. The one he’d betrayed._

_"Me too.”_

_Malcolm’s head snapped up at the sound of a familiar voice; one he’d assumed he wouldn’t be hearing for a long while._

_"Reese!” Malcolm jumped to his feet and rushed over to his brother, throwing his arms around him without hesitation. “I’m so glad to see you.”_

_Reese sent out the last diaper balloon that evening, and it was spectacular._

 

* * *

 

The hours between reuniting with Reese and finally lying in bed that night had been chaotic. There had been so much catching up to do. Reese went first: his time as a soldier and his perilous escape home; followed by Malcolm who told of their dad’s near-imprisonment over some false accusations and their mom’s breakdown. A whole lot of gasping and giggling ensued, causing Malcolm to take a moment to reflect on how he had missed those sounds. Their room had been so quiet without Reese. It was complete again, _normal_  again; Dewey and Malcolm sharing their bed with just enough room, and Reese lounging comfortably in his. Good.

It was Dewey, of course, who fell asleep first. He always did and it had always been his downfall -  giving too many opportunities for tasteless pranks that his older brothers just couldn’t refuse. But tonight, they did. As Dewey’s soft snores filled the room, everything else grew quiet and Malcolm was aware that, technically, he was now alone with Reese for the first time since he’d run away. The last time they’d been face-to-face was… well, Malcolm didn’t want to think about it.

But he had to.

“Reese…”

Malcolm was lying on his side, propped up on his elbow and facing Reese’s bed. He could see the look on Reese’s face despite their dimly lit room, and it caused his stomach - maybe his heart too - to plummet. God, he felt terrible, and no amount of voluntary care-work for veterans could cure it. He’d tried it and, not only was it an actual disaster, it did not heal what he felt in his chest and didn’t even touch those unabating thoughts that raced through his guilty brain. The only way to move on from this was to confront his mistake. His big, big, unforgivable mistake.

“Reese, I’m so glad you’re home.”

“Me too.” Reese spoke softly, even smiled, but Malcolm knew it was forced. With their family around, they’d been able to talk so easily, but now they were alone, both knew this conversation was coming.

“I can’t even tell you how much I actually missed you. Seriously. I genuinely missed you.”

“I missed you too. I missed you all. Even Dewey.”

“I can’t believe you joined the army, Reese. What were you thinking?” As soon as he asked it, he wished he hadn’t. He knew what Reese had been thinking - that his moron of a brother had completely betrayed any trust they’d had between them. That his idiot of a brother stole his girlfriend; the first girl he may have loved, or at least, the first girl he’d been compelled to say ‘I love you’ too.

But Reese didn’t get angry. He shrugged and simply said, “I didn’t know what else to do.”

There was silence in the room again. Oppressive and unnerving. At least that’s how it made Malcolm feel. But he was the guilty one, after all. He deserved to feel that way. He hesitated before getting out of bed and joining Reese. Reese’s bed was that bit smaller, made only for one and, sitting opposite him, Malcolm felt they were physically closer than they ever had been.

“Reese, I am so sorry.” He whispered. When he finally mustered the courage to look up at Reese, Reese was looking back at him. This made him panic and his words began to tumble out. Even if he had wanted to, Malcolm couldn’t stop them from spilling. “God, I’m so horrible. I can’t believe I did that to you. Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking. I should have been, but I wasn’t. I don’t know why I did it - there’s no excuse. All I know is that I regret it more than I regret any stupid decision I’ve ever made.”

He was aware that he was rambling and his voice was above a whisper now. Frantic words that he couldn’t control, but he meant every single one of them.

“I swear I had no idea how much you liked her. Not that it even matters - it was completely immoral _anyway,_  but I really _didn’t_  know. You probably hate me now and I get that. I deserve that. But please know that I’m really sorry.”

Malcolm was sure Reese had begun to say something, but he was on a roll.

“And when you left, I just didn’t know what to do. I had no idea where you’d gone. When you didn’t come home after a couple of days, I knew it was serious. And then that letter arrived saying you’d joined the army… Jesus, Reese. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know when I’d see you next or what might happen to you.”

“Malcolm.” Reese attempted to interject again. Somewhere in the back of Malcolm’s mind he was aware of a gentle hand on his own.

“It had already felt as though we’d lost you, Reese. Even though I tried to be rational and tell myself you’d probably get home safe, it just felt like the end of everything. I can’t explain it. Everything changed. I realised how much you meant to me and how selfish I had been. All I could think about was how, if I could go back in time, I would just change _everything._  I wouldn’t have been so cruel. It made no sense to put a girl I didn’t care about before you, my own brother. My best friend. I missed you like crazy, Reese. I never thought I could possibly miss you as much as I did. It made me think about everything, like how we argue so much and never really appreciate those good moments we share - and we have a lot of those. I just spent more time thinking of all the bad things and convincing myself that we don’t get along. I hated that I never told you any of these things before you left.” He finally paused to breathe. “That I never really said anything that mattered to you, and I may never have the chance to.”

Reese gave his hand a squeeze and Malcolm was abruptly brought back to consciousness. This whole time he’d been rambling, Reese had been listening intently; gentle concern marking his eyebrows and his lips set in a soft, thoughtful frown. Malcolm was grateful for his brother’s touch. A sign that perhaps he wasn’t as angry as he had feared. That perhaps, in time, he’d be forgiven and things would fall back into place.

“Well now you’ve told me.” Reese spoke gently. “Something that matters, I mean. You missed me and you’re sorry. That’s good to hear.”

“Yeah.” Malcolm tried to smile and was relieved when Reese mirrored him.

They sat hand in hand for a while before Reese spoke up again. “Honestly, I was never really mad at you. I was just upset.”

“Understandable,” Malcolm responded lamely, hating himself.

“But I wanted her to be happy.” A brief pause. “And she didn’t love me anyway. She told me so.”

Malcolm, for the first time in his life, couldn’t find any words to say. What was he supposed to say back to that? He wasn’t in any position to comfort his brother over a girl he practically stole from him. But it seemed clear that Reese wasn’t expecting a response; he sat with an ‘oh well’ expression on his face, though Malcolm could see the sadness there too.

“I learned a lot while I was away, Malcolm.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. At some point, I didn’t think I’d make it home. I really liked that girl. But all I wanted was to get back home to you guys. I didn’t even think of her. Not once.”

Malcolm frowned, feeling even more terrible about everything. “Look, Reese… I didn’t say everything I wanted to.”

Reese raised his eyebrows in curiosity; his lips parted in that way that made him look so innocent and so unaware.

“Please don’t kill me. And don’t pretend to puke, either.” Malcolm rolled his eyes. “Okay. Listen. I guess that… well, I guess, I just wanna say that… I love you.”

Reese was about to say something but Malcolm cut in.

“Please. Don’t say anything stupid. I mean it. I know you probably don’t wanna hear it. It’s gross, I totally get it. But let me just say it. At least this once.”

The room fell silent again. This time, the tension carried a different feeling. Not something so negative and fearful. It was thick; something that had always been there had finally been confronted. He loved Reese. Their arguments didn’t matter. Their differences meant nothing. There was a lot of love here.

After a while, Reese gripped Malcolm’s hand tightly and spoke so softly and seriously. “I forgive you for what you did. Don’t mention it again and please stop thinking about it. If I can get over it, then you can too. Okay?”

Malcolm nodded.

“And…” Reese added, bowing his head so he was no longer looking at his brother. “I love you too, Malcolm.”

After a hug that neither would confess to instigating, they somehow ended up falling asleep in Reese’s bed together. Reese lay on his side and Malcolm lay behind him, close enough so that his chest was against his brother’s back. Malcolm slept peacefully for the first time since Reese had run away.

The next morning when Malcolm woke up, the space beside him felt cold and empty where it had once been warm and soft. Reese was gone. At the kitchen table, he joined his family for breakfast and he and Reese barely looked at each other. When they both reached for the last waffle, Reese thumped Malcolm in his arm, hard, and claimed it with his own fork.

At least things were back to normal.


End file.
